The Trouble with Teenagers
by Bethhawke
Summary: A follow on from 'A Second Chance'. Relationships begin and end, teenagers cause trouble and the Airwolf crew have to rescue a kidnap victim. My short story 'Guess what I saw Last Night' is part of this, but told from the view of the Airwolf crew.
1. Chapter 1 Relationships

Disclaimer - Airwolf is not mine, I am just borrowing the characters, with the exception of Beth who is my creation.

The story follows on from 'A Second Chance' and is set between seasons 2 and 3, ending about 2 weeks before the start of season 3. My short story 'Guess What I Saw last Night' is part of this story, but here it is told from the view of the Airwolf crew.

Chapter 1 - Relationships

Archangel sighed deeply and set down the file he had been reading. He swivelled his chair away from his desk to look out of the window and briefly closed his eyes. He must have been more tired than he thought because he was awakened abruptly when he heard his office door open. He took a moment to compose himself before turning around to see who had entered.

"Marella." His delight at seeing his aide was expressed in the way he said her name. She had taken a few days off to recover from a bullet wound received during their last mission, which he had just been reviewing, and had only returned to work that day. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, thank you sir. I have the final report you requested."

"I didn't need that today!" He thought she had been relaxing at home, not working.

"Beth and I worked on it at the cabin, we agreed to get it over and done with. We both want to move on, sir."

"I understand." Marella had been dating Robert Hunter, who worked for the Firm, and he had turned out to be a kidnapper, rapist and traitor. He had kidnapped and raped Beth and she was still recovering from her ordeal, staying at the cabin of Stringfellow Hawke. Hawke had killed Hunter, along with the men he had been working with. "How is Elizabeth?"

Marella smiled, "Much better, sir. She wants to come back to work on Monday."

"How does Hawke feel about that?"

"She hasn't told him yet. She doesn't know if the relationship will survive her working for you. You know how he feels about putting his women in danger, he's convinced she'll die. I don't think he'll take the chance at happiness."

"With good reason," Archangel said grimly, thinking back to how Hawke had lost Gabrielle, "but she's an independent woman, otherwise I wouldn't have employed her. He'll either have to live with it or let her go."

"She's moving back to her apartment this weekend and I promised I'd call. Can I tell her Monday then?"

"Yes. Monday 0900hrs. Have her report to you."

"Yes sir." Marella turned to leave the office.

"Marella?" Archangel spoke just as she was about to open the door.

"Yes sir?"

"I was wondering, if you don't have any plans would you like to join me for dinner?"

Marella hid her surprise at the question. "I was only planning a TV dinner."

"I think I can manage something more exotic than that, on one condition though."

Marella raised an eyebrow, "What condition?"

Michael smiled, "You're not to call me 'sir' at all during dinner."

"I think I can manage that - sir," she replied with a wink.

* * *

In Stringfellow Hawke's cabin, he and Beth were sitting on the floor in front of a roaring fire, sipping wine. Tet, Hawke's Blue Tic hound, was lying sleepily next to Beth as she absent mindedly stroked his head. Hawke had asked his friends to leave them alone except for emergencies, and for once there had been none. They'd had no contact with the outside world for over a week and Hawke was just thinking that it was too good to be true, that he was feeling too happy, when Beth disturbed his thoughts.

"String?"

"Mmm," he replied sleepily, "what."

"You know I'm moving back to my apartment this weekend?"

"You don't have to," he pulled her close, nibbling at her ear.

Beth playfully pushed him away, "Stop it String. I have to go back," then said hurriedly, "I'm going back to work on Monday."

His good mood was instantly gone, "It's too soon. Michael said you could have as long as you needed."

"I'm ready to go back. Besides you told Dom you would be back at Santini Air on Monday. I can't just stay here waiting for you to come home," she tried to keep her voice patient.

"You could. You're safe here," he was standing up now, pacing the room.

Beth stood up too, disturbing Tet. His head moved from side to side as he watched his master pacing, before deciding there was nothing much to see. He put his head back on his paws and went back to sleep.

"I'll be safe at work. Archangel won't give me any outside assignments until the plaster is off my arm and I'm strong enough to take care of myself," her voice was rising and Tet opened his eyes again, stood up and trotted to the door. Hawke opened the door to let him out, slammed it behind him and continued to pace.

"Safe! Working for Archangel," his voice dripped sarcasm, "that would be a first."

"It's my job now. It's what I want to do and you can't stop me."

"I can try," he replied darkly. Then in a quieter voice he said, "I don't want to lose you."

"String," she moved to his side, taking hold of his arm to still him, "you won't lose me. I promise I'll be careful." When he didn't reply she continued, cautiously, "I know about Gabrielle, Marella told me."

He whirled around, grabbing her by the shoulders, "She had no right," his face was a mask, cold eyes meeting hers.

"She thought I should know, to help me understand why you didn't want me working for Archangel," his grip tightened and she tried to pull away, "String you're hurting me."

He let her go abruptly and she lost her balance, sitting down heavily on the chair behind her. He stormed outside, calling for Tet and Beth decided to go to bed.

The next morning Hawke was still angry and Beth decided to go home that day, instead of waiting for the weekend. She packed her bag while Hawke was fishing on the lake and walked out to meet him.

"Will you take me home or shall I call Marella?" she asked him as he climbed out of his boat, trout and fishing gear in his hands.

"Can I change your mind?"

"No."

"Then I'll take you. No point Marella flying out here." Dominic had let Hawke keep one of his helicopters at the cabin so they could come and go as they pleased, besides he didn't want Marella knowing his personal business although he suspected that Beth would tell her anyway. The two women had become good friends.


	2. Chapter 2 Monday

Hawke flew out to Santini Air late on Monday morning. Dominic Santini, his best friend and surrogate father greeted him warmly.

"String, good to see you, even if it is nearly lunch time," he caught the younger man in a bear hug, "you finally ready to do some work?" he teased.

Hawke hugged him back, patting Dominic's back in a manly fashion.

"Good to be back Dom," he looked around the hanger," Caitlin here?"

"Should be back any minute. She went out to get lunch," Dominic replied, not quite able to avoid another dig at Hawke being so late, "She's going to catch up on the paperwork while me and you go to the Lair and work on the Lady."

"Any problems?"

"No, just some routine maintenance. Got to keep my lady sweet," Dominic grinned.

"How many times do I need to tell you, Dom? It's just a machine." Hawke smiled fondly at the older man, who just laughed.

Caitlin pulled up just then in her car and struggled with the door, her hands full with the lunch.

Hawke rushed over to help her before lunch ended up on the tarmac.

"Thanks," Caitlin handed the bags over gratefully before looking at Hawke closely, "you don't look so good for someone who's just had a week's vacation."

Hawke glared at the pretty redhead, "Thanks," he said, dryly.

"Oh you know what I mean. You look tired. And you_ are_ awfully late for work. We were worried."

"I'm fine."

"How's Beth? She back at work too?"

Hawke shrugged, "I guess so. I'll go get changed into some overalls and do a bit of work around here, then we can visit the lady after you two have finished eating." Hawke walked towards the men's room to get changed.

He had just unbuttoned his shirt when the door opened. He looked up, expecting Dom and was surprised to see Caitlin standing in the doorway.

"Uh, Men's room Cait!" he said, pointing to the sign on the still open door. She pushed the door shut and stood with her arms crossed in front of her chest, looking very fierce.

"Talk to me String. Dom was starting to get worried, you being so late and you really don't look so good."

"I'm not that late and I'm just a bit tired, that's all."

"Look String, I know something is wrong, call it women's intuition. I'm not leaving until you tell me what it is." She stood firmly in front of him, feet apart and arms still crossed, looking as though she could stay all day if she had to.

Hawke thought for a moment, considering his options, then made a decision.

"OK," he said.

"OK?"

"Yes, you can stay if you want. I'm getting changed, I've work to do if you haven't." He took off his unbuttoned shirt and started to undo his jeans.

Cait stared at him in horror and practically ran from the room, Hawke's humourless laugh echoing behind her.

* * *

Beth had arranged to meet Marella for breakfast before starting work. She had missed Marella's company, having only seen her once since Hawke had killed Hunter. They had become good friends and it was nice to have someone to talk to who understood what she had been through, and Marella felt the same.

The diner was quite busy at that time of the morning, but they found a quiet seat by the window where they could talk in relative privacy. While they waited for the waitress to take their order Beth had told Marella that she and Hawke had broken up. Marella insisted that Beth eat something and they were now sitting in companionable silence sipping coffee and eating warm toast.

Marella took the opportunity to gather her thoughts. She'd had another dinner date with Michael that weekend, the third so far. She had planned to confide in Beth, to ask her what she thought, but it didn't seem appropriate now. She sighed, causing Beth to look up from her cup.

"Want to talk about it?" Beth asked.

"Just thinking," replied Marella.

"Tell me about it, it might take my mind off String."

"I had dinner with Michael last night. That's three times now, and one lunch which I'm not sure counts, but that's all we've done – eat!"

"I expect he's taking it slowly. You work so closely together that it could be awkward if things didn't work out."

"I expect you're right. We get on so well together, but I'm starting to feel awkward, not sure if I should stray too far away from work topics, and I don't like not being in control."

"Try it and see. Next time he takes you out try to avoid work topics altogether and see how he reacts. If you get a negative reaction just change the subject."

"I'm not sure when the next time will be though. He always leaves it until the last moment to ask me, almost as if it's an afterthought."

"You could always ask _him_ to join _you_ for dinner."

"I might try that later, _if_ he's in a good mood." Marella laughed.

"You know, he could also be worried about your reaction if he gets close to you. Hunter hurt us both bad and Archangel was there in the aftermath."

Marella looked closely at Beth, not sure if she should ask the question that was on her lips. Beth noticed the observation and interpreted it correctly. "Go on, ask me. I won't turn into a blubbering idiot again, I promise." The last time they had talked about Hunter, at the cabin, Beth had started crying and hadn't been able to stop. It had taken both Marella and Hawke nearly an hour to calm her down.

"How did you and Hawke get over the Hunter problem, if it's not too personal a question? I mean it was worse for you, the way you were treated."

"We had a couple of false starts. He kissed me once, then remembered what I'd been through and pulled away. I reacted badly to that, I thought he didn't want me any more. I was a bit screwed up to say the least."

"That's to be expected. But you were OK in the end, weren't you? That night at the cabin you two seemed really close."

Beth grinned, "So did you and Archangel, sorry, I can't bring myself to call him Michael." She continued, more seriously, "Hawke did the right thing, in my opinion anyway. He left it up to me to make the first move."

"But you two already had a relationship. I'm not even sure that Michael and I are dating, I mean he kissed my _hand_ when we said goodnight last night."

It wasn't that funny but the two women burst out laughing, causing a few diners to turn around and look at them, which only made them laugh more.

In a cheerful mood they made their way to Marella's office, only to find Archangel sitting in Marella's chair behind her desk. At the sight of him Beth started giggling again.

"Are you ready for work now?" he asked, then noting their amused looks, "what's so funny?"

Marella sauntered over to her desk and spun the chair around, with Michael still in it.

"My chair I believe, sir," she put out her hand to help him up.

"Hmm, I think I'll leave you two alone. I just came to welcome Elizabeth back."

"Thank you, sir. It's good to be back."

Archangel allowed Marella to pull him out of the comfortable leather chair and made for the door. Marella winked at Beth and followed him out of the office.

"Sir, I have this new recipe I want to try out. Feel like being a guinea pig?"

"Unfortunately I have a business dinner tonight. But we could try your recipe out another night. Would it be out of order if I called at your apartment just for a drink after the dinner?"

"Yes...I mean no, that would be fine." Michael grinned at her flustered expression, it wasn't often that she got her words mixed up.

* * *

They all worked for a couple of hours in the hanger, then Hawke and Dom took the Jeep to the Lair to work on Airwolf. Cait stayed behind to get the paperwork up to date.

As they approached the Lair, Hawke noticed tire tracks.

"Dom, stop!" Hawke shouted, gesturing with his arm.

Dominic slammed his foot on the brake pedal and they skidded to a halt.

"What's wrong!"

"Tire tracks, looks like a motorbike, and heading towards the lair."

"So I didn't really need the emergency stop then?" Dominic looked at Hawke in mock exasperation.

Hawke looked sheepish, "Sorry Dom, I guess I overreacted. But it could be serious. Follow the tracks, I want to know exactly where that bike went."

The tracks ended a few feet from the entrance to the Lair and were replaced by two sets of footprints. Hawke measured his foot against the larger of the two prints.

"Smaller than mine. What do you make of the other prints?"

"They're tiny, no one has feet that small," the older man replied, puzzled.

"Wait, look over here. They must have stopped, the prints are clear. It looks like..."

"High heels!" interrupted Dom, "a small man and a lady?"

"Or a boy and girl. Teenagers, old enough to ride a motorbike."

"Still could be trouble, String. Let's search the area."

They cautiously entered the lair and stood still, listening.

"They're long gone," said Hawke, "I don't sense anyone here now and there's no sign of a motorbike. Let's do the work on Airwolf then I'll camp here overnight, in case they come back."

"Not on your own String, what if they bring friends back with them?"

"OK, you go back and get Cait, see if she's willing to stay too, and we'll all stay until the kids turn up. We can take it in turns to sleep."

"Yeah, and if they do bring company, three against however many is better odds then you on your own," Dominic wanted to make it clear to Hawke that it was a good idea, in case he got it into his head to send them home and stay on his own. He knew Hawke was upset about something and when he was upset he tended to go off alone to brood.


	3. Chapter 3 Teenagers

When Dominic returned with Caitlin, Hawke had the place looking quite cosy, for a cold damp cave. He had built a small fire, enclosed with large stones, and had set out camping equipment, that they kept in the Lair for emergencies like this one, and blankets. A small pan was bubbling away on the camp stove, with water for coffee, and three cups were waiting to be filled. They sat around the fire drinking coffee and making plans. They took a gun and a flash light each and Dom was voted to have the first sleep, while Hawke and Caitlin took first watch.

When Dom was safely inside Airwolf, probably snoring although he couldn't be heard by the other two, Cait decided to quiz Hawke again. They were sitting close together, wrapped in large blankets. It was cold now the sun had gone down and the fire only gave a small amount of heat. Hawke had his eyes closed, enjoying the peace while it lasted, for he knew Cait would soon get bored and start talking. Sure enough after about five minutes of peace Cait spoke.

"Hawke, are you asleep?"

"Nope," he replied, keeping it short and simple in the hope that Cait would take the hint and shut up again.

"Is surveillance always this boring?"

"Yep."

"Wanna talk?"

"Nope."

Caitlin was silent was a few more minutes, then she started fidgeting.

"Hawke?" He opened his eyes and sighed, resigned to the fact that he wouldn't get any more peace. "That's better, I was beginning to think I was alone here. We are supposed to keep watch together."

"Nothing to see, I was listening," he explained patiently.

"Can we talk?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"No," Caitlin grinned.

"Well I guess we talk then, but keep it quiet, I need to listen for any intruders."

"About this morning, when you were late for work, is everything OK with you and Beth, I mean..." She broke off, not sure what to say next. She wanted to know what was wrong but didn't want to upset him if it meant she had to spend the night with him in a bad mood.

"Cait," his voice held a warning.

"Hawke please, we worry about you, Dom and I, and who else are you going to talk to if something is wrong?"

"Who says I want to talk to anyone?"

"Well you should! You keep everything bottled up inside and that's unhealthy."

Hawke sighed and turned his face to look at Caitlin. "We split up," he grimaced, "happy now?"

"Of course not!" she sounded angry at him, then her voice softened, "I'm sorry, Hawke, I know how you feel about her."

"Do you?" he couldn't quite hide the pain in his voice.

She hugged him and fell silent. There wasn't much she could say and they sat in silence until it was time to change shifts.

"You want to wake Dom up?" Hawke asked her with a grin.

"No way!" she exclaimed, "he's grumpy when he's woken up."

Hawke stood up and stretched, "OK I'll do it. But it's your turn if there's a next time."

Hawke opened Airwolf's door, the noise waking Dominic abruptly. He climbed out stiffly, calling for coffee, as Caitlin took his place.

Dom chatted away cheerfully for a whole hour, much to Hawke's disgust, until Hawke angled his head to one side, listening to a sound in the distance.

"What is it?" asked Dom.

"Motorbike. Put out the fire."

Dominic doused the fire and ran to Airwolf to wake Caitlin.

They took up their previously agreed positions, Hawke at the cave entrance and Dom and Cait inside on opposite sides.

The moon was covered by thin clouds and gave a small amount of light making the Valley of the Gods look eerie and full of shadows, not somewhere you would want to be at night. The single headlight of the motorbike could be seen in the distance but as it got closer it was switched off. The terrain was uneven and the bike slowed now the rider couldn't see where he was going. It stopped in almost the same place as before and a girl climbed off, shivering. She was small, several inches shorter than Cait, Hawke estimated, and not suitably dressed for riding pillion on a cold night. She was wearing a mini skirt, a t-shirt and ridiculously high heeled shoes. The boy was a little taller than the girl in her heels, but not much. He took her hand and they cautiously approached the cave entrance. She was struggling to keep her footing on the uneven ground and tripped. She would have fallen in the boy hadn't caught her arm.

"I told you to wear flat shoes," he said quietly, "you had the same problem last night."

"They wouldn't go with my outfit," she replied peevishly and quite a bit louder then he had spoken, "and why are you whispering? There's no one here."

"There wasn't last night, but that helicopter didn't get in there all by itself, did it?" he explained with exaggerated patience, as though they'd had the discussion before.

At the cave entrance they paused and at that moment the moon moved from behind the clouds giving Hawke a clear look at them. They were teenagers, no older than 17 in Hawke's estimation and didn't look dangerous. But looks could be deceptive and Hawke wasn't going to take any chances; he stepped out from the shadows, gun held menacingly in front of him. The girl screamed and clutched her boyfriend tightly.

"What are you doing here?" Hawke demanded.

"We're not doing anything wrong," the boy answered defiantly.

Dominic and Caitlin moved out of the shadows to stand by Hawke. The teenage girl moved even closer to the boy, looking very frightened.

"Cover me Dom, I'm going to search them," Hawke shoved his gun into his waistband and patted down the boy; all he had on him was some loose change and his keys. He moved towards the girl and was about to search her too when the boy grabbed his arm.

"Don't touch her!"

Hawke gestured for Caitlin to search the girl and as he suspected she was also unarmed.

"OK, now we talk," said Hawke, pushing the couple into the Lair. "Sit!" he gestured to the ground by the extinguished fire and they sat down.

"Right, start talking or I shoot," he took his gun out from his waistband.

The girl started crying. "We've done nothing wrong," she sobbed, "we were just looking for somewhere to be alone and we found this cave."

"Come on Hawke, they're just kids," Cait decided it was time to intervene, "tell us your names."

"I'm Katy and he's Cody," Katy replied, gesturing towards her boyfriend who looked mad at her for telling.

"Now you know our names, how about telling us yours," he gave Katy a look that said 'say no more'.

"I'm Caitlin, he's Dom and the mean guy is called Hawke. Now, tell us how you found this place."

"She told you the truth," Cody blurted out, "we were just riding around looking for somewhere quiet and warm to ...well you know," he looked at Hawke, willing him to understand and believe him.

"Let's go outside and have a chat, man to man," Hawke suggested, pulling the boy up.

Caitlin continued to question Katy.

"You know, if you aren't telling the truth, Hawke really will hurt him."

"We are, honest. It's like he said. You see my parents don't like Cody so we have to meet in secret somewhere we won't be seen."

"I bet they think you're at a girlfriend's house right now."

"Yeah! How did you know?"

"I was your age not so long ago and my parents didn't always like my boyfriends either," Caitlin thought getting pally with Katy would probably help, and she really did seem like a nice kid, if not too intelligent.

Katy giggled, "I bet they wouldn't like Hawke either," she obviously assumed Hawke and Caitlin were a couple.

Outside Hawke stopped abruptly and took hold of Cody's shoulders.

"Right, now for the truth. What are you doing here and who have you told?"

Without his girlfriend to impress, Cody let his fear show and looked close to tears.

"I told you. We rode around for a while. The moon was bright and it lit up the entrance to the cave. I stopped the bike and we went to have a look." His face suddenly lit up, "Is that your helicopter? It's awesome."

"Never mind that. Who have you told?"

"Only Josh, my brother and he didn't believe me."

"Why not?"

"He never believes what I tell him, he's the oldest and is good at _everything_. He thought I was just bragging because _he's_ never done it in a cave."

"Done what in a cave?" Hawke was wondering if he'd missed something.

"You know," Cody shuffled his feet and looked at the ground.

Realisation dawned and Hawke grinned and patted him on the shoulder, "In a cave, huh. Wouldn't be my first choice, a bit cold."

"Her parents hate me and they seem to know everyone in town so we have to go somewhere else," Cody paused and looked at Hawke with a shy grin, "it _was_ a bit cold."

They went back inside and Hawke looked at Caitlin who just nodded.

"OK, we're going to let you go, but first we need your names and addresses."

Katy supplied the information and Dom wrote it down while Hawke told them what would happen if they had lied or told anyone else what they had seen.

"No word of this shall pass my lips," Cody said seriously.

"Nor mine," said Katy, thinking what odd words Cody had used.

As they rode away Dom turned to Hawke, "You scared the hell out of them, String," he scolded, "I don't think they'll tell."

"I hope not, but just in case I might get Michael to check them out."

"Oh come on String, they're just kids. Michael won't have a file on them."

"Not on them, but maybe on their family or friends. I need to be sure, I don't want to have to move the lady."


	4. Chapter 4 Trouble

They spent the rest of the night in the Lair just in case the kids returned even though they were sure they wouldn't and at first light drove back to Santini Air. Hawke flew back to his cabin while Caitlin and Dominic went to their respective homes to get breakfast and catch up on some sleep.

It was early evening before they arrived at Archangel's office. Dominic had called ahead to warn him of their visit and Archangel was sitting at his desk, with Marella perched on the edge, waiting for them. He didn't waste time on greetings just glared at them while Marella sauntered over to the computer and punched in a name.

"Where the hell did you get that name?" Hawke demanded, as the name of the boy from the previous night appeared on the screen. He looked over at Dom, wondering if he had told Michael, but Dom just shook his head and shrugged.

Michael stood up and moved in front of his desk to confront Hawke. He was standing too close for comfort and Hawke took a step back, not in the mood for a confrontation.

"As if you don't know," Michael sounded very angry, "you could have jeopardized _everything_!"

Hawke pointed his finger at Michael in a threatening way. "_We_ had the situation under control. How did you find out?"

"Take a look at this," Michael gestured to Marella, who handed Hawke a sheet of paper. He started to read it, then handed it to Caitlin in disgust.

She took it from him, puzzled, and started to read it. After a few minutes, she started laughing.

"It's not _humorous_!" Archangel said, glaring at her.

"What! What am I missing?" Dom stood behind Caitlin trying to read the paper which was shaking as she laughed.

"Why that little devil!" he chuckled as he read the first paragraph, "how did you get hold of this?"

Marella answered for her boss, "As you can see, Cody wrote a school assignment based on his discovery of Airwolf. Luckily for us all, his parents were visiting the school to discuss his grades and arrived just after the teacher had pinned this on the classroom notice board."

Caitlin interrupted, "But how did _you_ get hold of it?"

"Cody's father works for the Firm, and his brother is having an interview next week. We will be talking to Cody about the importance of secrecy."

"I already did that," Hawke said, " he _said_ he wouldn't tell."

"No Hawke, you threatened him. Do you remember his actual words?" asked Caitlin.

"No."

"He said, and I quote, 'No word of this shall pass my lips.'"

"Clever little tyke, he had you fooled String," Dominic was still chuckling.

Archangel glared at Dominic, "Don't you realise the seriousness of this? You could have had a whole bunch of school kids knowing where Airwolf is," he leaned heavily on his cane and sat back down behind his desk.

"That would have been embarrassing for you, a bunch of school kids doing what you haven't been able to," Hawke's raised voice was sarcastic, "Cody won't go back and he won't tell and if he does he'll have _me_ to answer to!"

Just then there was a knock on the office door.

"Who is it?" shouted Archangel, taking his anger at Hawke out on the person behind the closed door.

The door opened and Beth walked in closely followed by a man who Hawke vaguely recognised and a woman who he guessed was the man's wife.

Beth ignored Hawke and spoke to Archangel, "Sir, I've taken a written report as you requested. The boys are waiting outside," she handed the report to him.

"Thank you Elizabeth. Please send the boys in, then you can go home."

As she left the office, Hawke muttered, "Excuse me a moment," and followed her out.

He waited until she had spoken to the boys and they had gone into the office before speaking to her. The corridor was empty, most of the daytime staff having already left.

"Are you OK?"

"I'm fine."

"Keep in touch," he moved closer and tucked her hair behind her left ear, tracing his finger along her cheek, "I miss you."

She rested her head on his chest and took a deep breath, "We're doing the right thing," it was meant to be a statement but sounded very much like a question, "Archangel is waiting for you."

"Stuff Archangel!"

"String, that's no way to talk about my boss," she sounded stern, but her eyes were smiling as she lifted her head to look in his eyes. "Go!" she walked away.

Hawke stood alone for a moment, composing himself before going back to the office.

As he opened the door, all eyes were on him. Hating to be the centre of attention, he focussed on Cody.

"You lied to me!"

Cody looked terrified, "I...I'm sorry," he looked down at the carpet unable to meet Hawke's angry blue eyes.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you. Don't you realise how serious this is?"

Cody met Hawke's eyes but didn't like what he saw there. He turned to his father, looking for support.

"Don't look at me son. It's Hawke who you have let down, what happens next is down to him," he turned to Hawke, "his punishment is in your hands, Captain."

Hawke realised then where he had seen this man before. He was part of the Zebra 2 squad who had helped him bring down Hunter. He searched his memory for a name, recalling it just in time to say, "Johnson," as he moved forward and held out his hand, which was immediately taken in a firm grip.

Johnson indicated the woman by his side, "Captain Hawke, may I introduce my wife."

Hawke looked at the boys mother and gave a brief nod, "Pleased to meet you ma'am. Do you wish to have any say in your son's punishment?"

Before she could reply Josh stepped forward to speak on his brother's behalf.

"Captain Hawke, I wish to apologise for my brother's behaviour. He really had no idea of the seriousness of the situation and I am partly to blame for not believing him."

"Maybe Cody could speak for himself?" Hawke turned and looked at the younger boy.

"I really am sorry, it won't happen again," his voice shook, he felt so out of place among these men, "you won't put me in prison or shoot me will you?"

To his surprise Hawke laughed and Cody was amazed at the change in the man's face, he actually look friendly. "You really think I would shoot you?" Hawke's voice was amused.

Cody looked at the floor again and nodded; he looked about ready to cry.

Caitlin had seen enough, "Hawke!" she chided. "Cody, I know you don't like guns and Hawke is _not_ going to shoot you or anyone else. Now tell me, what do you think your punishment should be?"

"I don't know," he mumbled.

"Speak up son," his father was a military man and Cody was used to obeying him.

"I don't know," he repeated, louder.

"Well, I think you should do something to help us out. We missed out on over a day's work waiting in that cave for you. I say you come and work at Santini Air every weekend for month, without pay, to help us to catch up," she deliberately avoided looking at Dom as she suspected he wouldn't want this kid under his feet.

"Well, what do you say son? That sounds fair to me," his father looked at Hawke who briefly nodded.

"Yes father, I'll do as Caitlin says," his voice shook and he looked terrified.

Josh glanced at him, concerned, and wondered what Cody would do. He knew his brother had a fear of guns and violence, although he had no idea why, and wouldn't want to spend time around Hawke, who he was terrified of.


	5. Chapter 5 Plotting

At Cody's school, the janitor had finished mopping the classroom floors. He just had to put the chairs back on the floor then he could go home. He placed the chairs untidily under the tables and rushed out to catch a bus home. Home was his sister's place. It was small, too small for them all; his sister Marie, her husband Jack, their two small kids and himself, but it was all he could afford on his low pay and the small rent he paid was a help to them. Jack had been out of work since getting fired from his old job for being drunk in charge of a forklift truck, a joke down a their local pub, but serious to Jack and his wife, who was pregnant with their third child. She was working part-time as a school secretary but would have to give up soon.

Tony jumped off the bus while it was still moving and ran all the way home. He stormed into the house, calling for his brother-in law.

"Jack, hey Jack, you there?"

"Quiet! I've just put the kids to bed." Marie appeared from the kids' bedroom looking tired.

"Sorry," he whispered, "where's Jack?"

"Where do you think?" she sounded exhausted and leaned against the wall "I suppose you're going to join him. Tell him dinner's in an hour."

Tony didn't even bother to get changed before heading for the pub. He found Jack at the bar, with two empty glasses in front of him.

"Hey Tone, just in time. Buy me a beer."

Tony bought them both a beer before dragging his brother-in-law to a quiet seat in the corner. He got straight to the point before Jack got too drunk to listen.

"You know that kid you had me watching? Well I think we should move now. He's in big trouble with his folks, something he did wrong at school."

"How does that help us?"

"If we take him after school tomorrow his folks might think he's run away. He did once before, remember I told you I overheard him telling his girlfriend about it. He's really scared of his old man."

"I still don't get it. How does that help us?"

"You're proper dumb sometimes, Jack. It gives us time to hide him and make the arrangements. If he just disappeared out of the blue they would be suspicious and call in the cops. And if we're really lucky his brother will cover for him like last time."

"You really think this will work?"

"I know it will. It has to, it's our last chance. You and Marie have done all the background checks and know they're good for the money. Come on Jack. I know you're as sick and tired of having no money as I am and with another baby on the way..."

"OK, OK. Buy me another beer and we'll work out what to do."

"Good, but we'll have to make it quick if we're to get home in time for dinner."

Settled with another beer each they got down to business.

"Marie will need to get the spare key to the basement storage closet. I've got the original and no one ever goes down there but we don't want to take any chances. The room is pretty much soundproof, you need to be right outside the door to hear anything."

"How are we going to take him?" asked Jack.

"I'll get Marie to call him into the office. She'll think of some way of keeping him there until we can get him to the basement. You can come into the school under the pretence of picking Marie up. I may need you if he puts up a struggle."

They stayed for another beer, making plans on how to collect the ransom before heading home for dinner.


	6. Chapter 6 Taken

On Wednesday morning Cody dragged himself out of bed and into school. The day dragged and he felt like he'd been there a week when the bell for end of school finally rang. As he was putting his books into his locker the school secretary called to him from her office door, just along the corridor.

"Cody can I see you for a moment?"

Cody sighed and wondered what he had done wrong this time. He followed her into the office.

"Take a seat, I just need to finish typing this letter for your parents."

"Can't I get it tomorrow?" Cody asked, desperate to get out of school.

"I need them to see it tonight. Why don't you run an errand for me while I finish typing. By the time you get back I'll have finished."

"OK."

She handed him a key, "Take this to the janitor, he's probably in the basement."

Cody took the key and made his way to the basement. The corridors were empty now and seemed eerie without the noisy bustle of students. He opened the basement door and called out, "Hello."

When he got no answer he ventured inside. The lighting was dim and he took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust before descending the staircase. "Hello! I've got the key you wanted."

Still getting no reply he continued along the dim corridor feeling strangely nervous. He'd almost got to the door at the end when a man stepped out of the shadows and clasped a hand over Cody's mouth.

"Don't make a sound or I'll hurt you."

Cody had no intention of getting hurt so he did as he was told. The man took the key from him and handed it to another man who was standing quietly behind him. The door was unlocked and Cody was pushed inside. He landed heavily on the cold floor and let out a sob as he heard the door lock behind him.

* * *

Josh was waiting for his younger brother to get home from school. He thought his father had been too harsh on Cody the night before and he was worried about him. He had run away once before and last night had threatened to do so again. Josh thought he had successfully talked him out of it but wanted to be sure.

Dinner came and went and Cody still wasn't home. Josh covered for him, telling his parents that he had gone to a friend's house to do homework and was staying there for dinner. He gave a sigh of relief when his parents finally went out for the evening, after packing for a short vacation they had starting the next day. Cody still wasn't home when Josh went to bed. He tried to stay awake to wait for him but finally fell asleep at about 2am.

He woke the next morning to the sound of his mother shouting goodbye. They were good parents but didn't go in for big goodbyes, his father was away too often, so he was sure they wouldn't come into their bedrooms. Not hearing Cody reply, Josh shouted, "Bye," in what he hoped was a fair approximation of Cody's voice, then "Bye Mom, Dad. Have a good time," in his own voice.

They must have fallen for it because his father called, "Bye boys. You behave now," before slamming the front door behind them.

Before falling asleep the night before, Josh had decided to give Cody until the end of school before doing anything. He thought he had probably stayed at a friend's house, worried about coming home.

That afternoon he hung around the school gates, talking to a few of Cody's friends but they all agreed that he hadn't been in school that day. In fact they all said they hadn't seen him since last lesson the day before.

Worried, he went back home and decided that he should check Cody's room for any clues about where he was. He realised that he should have done that the night before, but it just hadn't occurred to him. Some spy I'll make, he thought.

Unlike his brother, Cody wasn't one for fancy clothes and it didn't take Josh long to realise that all Cody's clothes, apart from what he was wearing, were still in the closet. And on top of the bookcase was his portable tape player. Josh felt his heart sink; Cody would never run away without that. He sat on the edge of his brother's bed, his head in his hands, and thought. He had to tell someone and he had four choices of who to call. His parents, the police, Archangel or Hawke. He made his decision and rushed to the phone in the kitchen. He had the operator put him through to Santini Air.

The phone was answered almost immediately,

"Santini Air," it sounded like Mr Santini.

"Is Captain Hawke there please?" Josh asked.

"Yeah, who's calling?"

"Josh Johnson."

He heard Dominic shout," String, it's Josh, that kid's brother, for you."

"Hi, Josh. What's up?" Hawke sounded friendly enough and Josh couldn't understand why his brother didn't like him.

He got straight to the point, "Cody's missing."

"Missing? In what way missing?"

"I thought he'd run away, but none of his stuff is missing and no one's seen him since school yesterday," the words came out in a rush, "I'm really worried now."

"Calm down son. Where are your parents?"

"They're away until Monday. Can you help, please?"

"We'll be right over. Stay at home in case he calls."

When Hawke and Dominic pulled into Josh's driveway an hour later the young man was waiting for them at the front door.

"Have you heard anything?" asked Hawke.

"Nothing," Josh looked dejected.

"Don't worry, let's go inside," Dominic said, giving him a comforting pat on the shoulder.

They followed him into the large kitchen and sat around the table. Dominic looked around appreciatively at the expensive fixtures.

"Nice house."

"Yeah, only the best for Mom."

"Right. Why don't you start at the beginning, Josh." Hawke didn't want to waste time talking about kitchen furniture.

Josh explained everything, starting from Sunday night when Cody told him about finding the helicopter. His voice started to shake when he realised that he was being taken seriously.

"Was he going anywhere after school yesterday?" asked Dominic.

"No. I was expecting him home. I waited for him."

"Why didn't you tell your parents?"

"Dad gets so mad at him. Cody is scared of him and I didn't want to get him into trouble if he was just staying at a friend's house until this all blew over," he hesitated and looked at Hawke, "and I hate to say this but, well, he was really worried about working for you at the weekend."

"Why?"asked Dominic.

"Well," he glanced at Hawke again, "_you_ really scared him."

"_I _scared _him._ Does he realise the worry he put _us_ through?"

"Well String, you were kinda hard on the kid," Dominic interrupted.

Hawke backed down, "OK, I admit I was hard on him, but it had to be done. We couldn't have anyone knowing where we keep our helicopter."

"So what are we going to do," asked Josh.

"Josh," Hawke sounded hesitant, "do you know if your father is currently working on anything top secret?"

"Not that I know of. You'd have to ask Archangel that."

"I will. What about money? This house looks pretty expensive. Could they afford a ransom."

"You really think he's been kidnapped?" Josh asked, voicing his fears for the first time.

"We have to consider every possibility. Try not to worry," Dominic tried to reassure him.

"A relative of mom's died when I was a baby and she inherited loads. I don't know how much, she never said, but I know that dad doesn't need to work."

Hawke stood up and moved decisively to the phone, "I'm calling Archangel."


	7. Chapter 7 Ransom

Hawke was watching from the window when, two hours later, Archangel arrived.

"Subtle, Michael, subtle," he muttered under his breath as a spotless white limo pulled up outside the house.

He moved to open the front door and was surprised to see Beth standing next to Michael. They were both carrying large black cases.

"Where's Marella?" he demanded, looking over their shoulders to see if she was following. The limo pulled away from the kerb and disappeared around the corner.

"Let us in Hawke, these cases are heavy," he said, ignoring Hawke's question.

They followed him into the kitchen and placed the cases on the table. While Michael and Dominic opened them and proceeded to fix the tracking device and tape recorder to the phone, Hawke took the opportunity to talk to Beth.

"Where's Marella and why are you here?" he asked her.

"Marella has gone to sort out a ransom just in case we need it. It'll take a fair bit of negotiation with the committee, especially as we don't even know if Cody has been kidnapped, or the amount of money needed."

"From what Josh says it looks like it _is_ a kidnapping. But why are you here?" he repeated his earlier question.

"It's my job."

"That's what Gabrielle said the night before she died."

"Live with it Hawke," Archangel had been listening, "Elizabeth asked to be in on this and if Cody has been hurt she will be of more use to him than we will."

"What about his parents? Have you contacted them yet?" Hawke knew he was outnumbered so decided to leave it for now, but vowed to speak to Beth later.

"Not yet. They're on a walking holiday and we don't know where they are staying tonight. I have contacted a number of hotels that they frequent, with instructions for Johnson to call in as soon as he arrives," he turned to Beth, "Elizabeth, see what information Josh can give you. I want a list of all the places his parents could be. I also need everything he can tell you about Cody; where he goes when not in school, his friends' names and addresses; You know the sort of thing to ask."

"Yes, sir," she left in search of Josh.

A couple of hours later, with everything sorted, Archangel called them all into the spacious sitting room. There was a large open fire place at one end of the room and although the fire wasn't lit, it was the focal point of the room. They settled into comfortable chairs that were arranged in a semi-circle facing the fire and Josh offered them all a drink, the perfect host despite the situation.

"What happens next?" Josh asked.

"Now we wait," replied Archangel, "I suggest we try to get some sleep."

"We've got three guest rooms," Josh looked around and realised there were four guests, "one of you could have Cody's room. It's a bit untidy but clean."

"That's OK," Hawke answered, "I'll stay by the phone."

"OK. Goodnight then. Help yourself to anything you need."

Josh went to his room and Dominic followed, the only one to take him up on the offer of a bed. Archangel settled into a comfortable chair, his feet resting on a stool.

"Let's get some fresh air," Beth suggested to Hawke, pulling him up from his chair and leading him out of the room.

"Don't go too far," Archangel called after them.

"We'll be in the garden. I'll leave the door open so we can hear the phone," Beth called back.

Passing through the kitchen she took off her jacket and hung it on the back of a chair.

"Hey, you've had the plaster off," Hawke exclaimed as they entered the perfectly tended garden.

"Yeah," she admitted, oddly subdued.

"I thought you were looking forward to it."

She flexed her wrist, showing him the restricted movement. "The doctor says it will improve some, but I may never get the full range of movements back."

Hawke hugged her, "Sorry. Does it still hurt?"

"A little, but not enough to need painkillers, unless I knock it or use it too much. I'm worried about my job though. Archangel needs someone who can drive, shoot and take care of themselves. I can't do any of that at the moment."

"If Michael can manage with one eye and a limp, I'm sure you'll be fine," he grinned at her and took her hand in his.

She laughed, "God, I've missed your sense of humour String."

He laughed too, "I guess this not seeing each other isn't working too well."

"No," she wrapped her arm around his waist and he responded by putting his around her shoulders, "and now we have to spend the night together," she said impishly.

He stopped walking and turned to face her, "Such hardship," he murmured as his lips found hers.

The kiss only lasted a few seconds before Hawke pulled away, loosening his hold on her.

"What's wrong?" Beth asked him, puzzled.

"We're being watched."

"Where...?" Hawke placed a finger over her lips.

He looked casually around, then his face transformed into a wide grin. "It's OK. It's only Josh. Look," he pointed to a window on the second floor and Beth saw the curtain move slightly.

She rested her head on his chest and clung to him. He could feel her heart beating rapidly.

"Hey, it's OK. You're awful jumpy tonight. Did you really ask to come here?"

"Yes," her voice was shaking.

"Why?" he sounded like he couldn't believe she would do something so stupid.

"I wanted to face my fears about being kidnapped. It seemed like good opportunity, with you all around to support me."

"And Michael agreed? He should know better," Hawke sounded annoyed.

"Marella talked him around. String, is Josh still watching?"

"No. He moved from the window as soon as you looked."

"Then why are we still talking?"

* * *

The next morning they were all up early and congregated in the kitchen for breakfast. They were on their second coffee when the phone rang. Archangel motioned for silence before answering. He put the phone on speaker.

"Hello?"

"Who are you?"

"A friend of the family. To whom am I speaking?"

"That doesn't matter, just listen carefully. We have the boy and if you want to see him alive again you'd better do as I say," the male voice on the other end of the phone sounded nervous.

"I'm listening."

"We want half a million dollars. Bring it to the phone box outside the boy's school at 5pm. You'll receive further instructions there."

Archangel tried to delay him. "It will take longer than that to arrange..."

"5pm or the boy dies." The phone went dead and Michael hung up, cursing under his breath. The call had been too short to trace.

"That man has watched too much television. 10 hours to arrange a ransom of half a million, he must be mad."

"Oh I don't know Michael. He didn't sat 'come alone and don't call the cops'." Dominic put on a voice that was supposed to represent a bad guy.

Hawke gave a humourless laugh and added, "Or 'half a million in used notes'."

Beth looked at Josh who didn't seem to understand the men's 'humour'. "Don't worry Josh. Marella will have sorted everything out."

"Yes, of course she will. Elizabeth, see if you can contact Marella. Hopefully she will be in the limo on the way here."

Beth called the limo and learned that Marella was only 10 minutes away. They decided to wait until she arrived before making any further plans.

Ten minutes later, almost to the second, the limo pulled up outside and Marella got out.

She was on her own and keen to brief them.

"The committee were surprisingly cooperative; apparently a few of them know Johnson. It will just take a phone call from me or Archangel and the money will be ready within the hour."

"Who will make the drop?" Dominic asked.

It was Archangel who answered, "Let's see. You and Hawke will be in Airwolf tracking the money and hopefully leading us to the boy. I'm too conspicuous and Elizabeth can't drive. That leaves Marella."

"And me," Josh stood up and looked Archangel in the eye, "he's my brother and dad'll never forgive me if anything happens to him."

Archangel and Marella shared a glance and both gave a slight nod.

"Alright Josh, you'll go with Marella. But you do exactly as she says. No heroics. Understood?"

"Understood, sir."


	8. Chapter 8 Tracking

Five minutes before the arranged meeting time Marella and Josh sat in Marella's car close to the school. It was very busy with kids just enjoying a Friday afternoon and it was impossible to tell if the kidnappers where watching the phone booth. At 1 minute to 5 o'clock Josh left the car and nervously walked to the phone booth. Just as his watch clicked onto the hour the phone rang.

"Hello?" Josh answered the phone.

"Have you got the money?"

"Yes."

"Good. Take it to the mall parking lot. Near the north entrance you will see a Chevrolet parked under a broken light. Put the money in the trunk. Don't bother trying to trace the car, it's stolen."

"What about my brother?"

"Just do as I say and you'll receive a phone call at the house telling you where to find him."

"But..."

"Do as I say or he dies." The phone was hung up.

Josh ran back to the car, clutching the bag of money to his chest. Marella, seeing the stricken look on his face, asked him what was wrong.

"They're not planning an exchange. They want me to leave the money and they'll phone the house to tell me where Cody is."

Marella hurriedly phoned Archangel who in turn contacted Airwolf.

"Hawke, are you tracking the money?" In the lining of the bag was a homing device which Dominic was tracking from inside Airwolf.

"The signal is clear. No problems this end."

"Good, because they're not planning an exchange. We leave the money with them and then they contact us."

"Hey, that's not playing by the rules," an outraged Dominic exclaimed from the rear seat of Airwolf.

Hawke turned his head for a brief glance at his friend, "_They _don't have to play by any rules, _they_ have the kid," he said grimly, "suggestions, Michael."

Michael debated for a heartbeat, "Play it out, Hawke. Just don't lose them."

"Understood. Airwolf out."

They tracked Marella's car, with the money inside, to the parking lot, then flew a little closer as Josh transferred the money to the trunk of the Chevrolet to get a clear scan of the car's registration. As soon as they had the information they moved away again, not wanting to arouse suspicion.

"You think they'll switch cars?" Dominic asked a quiet Hawke.

"Yeah, but it shouldn't be a problem as long as they keep the money with them in the bag."

"And what if they don't? You thought of that?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Just keep watching the monitor."

"There's a kid's life at stake here, string!"

"You think I don't know that!" Hawke was getting exasperated at Dominic, "That's why I'm trying to concentrate. Like you should be," he added pointedly.

* * *

Sitting in a car, just a few bays away from the Chevrolet, the kidnappers watched as Josh placed the bag of money in the trunk, got back into Marella's car and drove away.

As soon as they were out of sight Jack moved to open the door. Tony grabbed his arm.

"Where d'you think you're going?"

"To get the money of course," his shook his arm, "get off me."

Tony held on tighter, "They could have the cops watching the car. We wait."

"For how long. That trunk isn't locked, anyone could steal the money!"

"Then keep watch. I'm going to have a walk around, if I don't see anything suspicious, _then_ we get the money."

Tony walked slowly around the parking lot, looking inside parked cars and up at the mall windows, his dark sunglasses obscuring his eyes. Then, ever so casually, he approached the Chevrolet, fully expecting the cops to came screeching around the corner. When nothing happened, he opened the trunk and took out the bag before returning to his brother-in-law.

Confident that they were not being followed, they drove a short distance before dumping the car and wiping it clean of prints. Marie, the kids and their belongings were already at the airport, all they had to do was get there and they would be home free; they had used the last of their savings on air fares out of the country.

* * *

Sitting in Airwolf, which they had landed in Johnson's back garden, Dominic suddenly gave a shout.

"Hey, String, it's moving!"

Hawke ran to Airwolf, quickly donned his helmet and started her up.

They got to the source of the signal just in time to see the two men leaving the car and proceeding on foot. They rounded a corner and jumped on an airport bus just as it was pulling away from the stop.

"They are carrying half a million dollars and they get the _bus_!" a disgusted Dominic exclaimed as he traced the signal while Hawke kept them at a safe height.

"It's an airport bus, Dom. If they leave the country we may never see the kid again."

"You don't think they'll keep their word?"

"What do you think," his tone was sarcastic. "Contact Michael."

Once connected Hawke wasted no time, "Michael, they're headed for the airport. You wanna send someone to follow them on foot once they get inside?"

"I'll send Marella and Elizabeth. Johnson has been in touch and is on his way home. I'll call his car and get him to go direct to the airport to back the girls."

* * *

At the airport, Jack and Tony located Marie and updated her on the situation, waving the bag of money around without a care.

"You'll phone them now?" she asked the jubilant men.

"What! No way. Maybe when we get out of the country but not yet," her brother was adamant.

"But he's been locked up for two days without food, water or a toilet!" Marie stated in horror, "you can't just leave him there. He could be dead by the time they find him."

"Oh, he'll be OK."

"No!" it came out as a sob, "he's someone's son." she turned to her husband, "Jack, talk some sense into him. Imagine if it was our son."

"Who'd kidnap our son," Jack didn't quite get her reasoning, "we don't have anything to give."

"We do now!"

"Yeah, we're rich. Let's keep it that way. I'm with Tone on this."

Marie shut up. She knew when she was beaten and besides she had noticed a beautiful woman, dressed all in white, leaning nonchalantly against the wall near the book stand. She remembered what she had learned about Cody's father and the people he worked for, both from the confidential school files and from eavesdropping on Cody and his girlfriend, and wondered if they had somehow followed the men. Glancing around she spotted another woman in white buying coffee.

"I'm going to buy a book. With any luck the kids will sleep on the plane and I don't want to talk to you two." She stormed off to the shop.

"Hurry up," her brother called after her, "they've called our flight."

Marella saw her coming and quickly opened the book she was holding and pretended to read.

Marie stopped next to her, "Good choice," she told Marella, picking up a book and pretending to read the cover, "it's about a kidnapped kid who gets locked in his school."

Marella looked at her in amazement and despite her training quietly swore out loud.

Confident that this woman did work for Johnson, Marie slipped a key into her hand, selected a book, paid for it and returned to her family.

"Hurry up then," she said, as though it hadn't been her holding them up.

Walking towards the departure gate, Marie glanced nervously around, knowing it was only a matter of time before someone stopped them. When her husband and brother had started making plans to kidnap Cody for money, she had gone along with it, thinking they would hold the kid for a day or two, feed him and keep him well before letting him go in exchange for a large amount of money.

She realised now that she had been naïve; both men were cut from the same cloth, drunks who couldn't hold down a job and would do anything for money no matter who they hurt in the process.

As they left the building and walked towards the plane she saw Johnson waiting up ahead. She slowed down, holding tight to the children's hands and let the men go on ahead. Someone bumped into her back and as she turned to apologise Marella spoke quietly to her, "Turn around and come with me."

She obeyed without hesitation.

Outside on the tarmac, Johnson and a security team surrounded Jack and Tony and took the bag from them. Johnson opened it and confirmed it was the money. "Arrest them," he demanded.

Despite the hopeless situation Tony put up a fight. Kicking the man holding him, he tried to make a run for it but the security team were too well trained and all he got for his efforts was a gun at his head.

"Make one move and I'll shoot," Tony raised his eyes to see Johnson looking at him intently and he had no doubt that the man meant it. Deflated, Tony surrendered.


	9. Chapter 9 Rescue

Huddled in the corner of the locked room Cody was beginning to wonder if he would ever be rescued. He had restricted himself to looking at his watch every four hours, or what he estimated was four hours, so he didn't run the battery down by using the light too much. He remembered his excitement when Josh had given him the watch for his last birthday; he had used the light all the time and the battery had gone flat within two weeks. Josh had used all his savings to buy the watch that he knew Cody had been coveting for weeks. The tears started again as he thought about his brother. Josh was a great older brother, he was everything that Cody wasn't; clever, disciplined, good looking and fashionable but he still had time for his younger brother.

If he had timed it correctly it was now Friday evening. Earlier he could hear a constant buzz as the school was filled with noisy teenagers and the boiler was switched on providing hot water. Now it was silent, the school shutting down for the weekend. He couldn't bear to think about the weekend ahead, when the school would be empty and no amount of shouting would bring help. At least when the school was occupied he had hope.

* * *

Marella quizzed Marie, wanting to know where in the school Cody was being held. Marie talked; she wanted to tell her everything but for now all Marella wanted was the location.

As soon as she had the information she rushed to Airwolf. She ran past the security guards and through the departure gate, waving her Firm ID at anyone who tried to block her way. The key was clutched in her left hand.

Archangel had declared an emergency and the airport security staff had cooperated by clearing a runway so Airwolf could land safely. Hawke saw Marella running towards them and climbed out of the cockpit, calling to Dominic to start her up. She was out of breath and struggled to speak.

"Key," she handed him the key, "school basement. Locked door. Two days no food or water. Hurry Hawke."

Hawke jogged back to Airwolf and as soon as they were in the air he called for turbos.

Landing on the school sports field, Hawke rushed towards the school building with Dominic close behind. As they got to the main entrance a car pulled into the car park and a man in his fifties climbed out. He was dressed smartly and looked angry.

"What's this all about? I got called away from a charity function that I'm supposed to make a speech at."

"No time to explain, just open up and take us to the basement," Hawke took an instant dislike to the man and wasn't in the mood to be civil.

"Your boss must be pretty important to be ordering me about. I really must insist on an explanation," he demanded haughtily.

Hawke grabbed at the keys out of the man's hand and unlocked the door himself.

"Well! I'll have to report you to your boss. This is _my_ school."

"He's not my boss," Hawke pushed open the double doors while the older man pushed past him to disable the alarm, "and if this is your school, how do you manage to let a kid be locked up for two days and not notice? Now show us where the basement is or do I have to force you at gunpoint?"

The man backed down instantly as Hawke and Dominic both pulled out their guns, and he pointed down the corridor.

They ran through the deserted corridors, the principal only talking now to gave directions. Finally in the basement Hawke asked where the locked door was.

"At the end, just keep walking."

When Hawke reached the room he crouched down, his mouth near the keyhole.

"Cody. You in there?" when he received no answer he shouted louder, "CODY."

"Hello? Hawke?" Hawke and Dominic both breathed a sigh of relief; he was alive.

"Cody, could the door be booby trapped?"

"What?"

"The door. Did the men do anything to the door after they locked you in?"

"I don't think so," Cody called back, "I think they left straight away. I haven't heard anyone since they left. Hawke, get me out of here, _please._"

"OK. Stand back just in case."

Cody moved to the back of the room and shouted back, "OK."

Hawke placed the key in the lock and turned it slowly. He heard the lock click and he pushed down on the handle. The door swung open to reveal Cody cowering in the corner, his arms covering his head.

Hawke motioned Dominic forward, remembering what Josh had said about Cody being scared of him. Dom helped him to his feet, "You OK kid?" he asked gently.

Cody nodded and let Dominic help him out of the room.

Hawke patted him on the shoulder, "You're safe now," he said as Cody burst into tears.


	10. Chapter 10 Conclusion

Hawke and Dominic helped Cody into Airwolf, much to his delight, and took him to the Firm's clinic to be checked over. His father and Archangel were waiting for him.

"I'm sorry Dad," Cody hung his head and stayed close to Dominic. His father surprised him by pulling him into a bear hug.

"You have nothing to apologise for son," his voice was gruff with emotion, "if it hadn't been for my job and your mother's money you wouldn't have got into this mess."

Cody enjoyed the hug for a few seconds, he couldn't remember the last time his father had hugged him, until Archangel pointed out that the sooner he was checked over, the sooner he could go home.

An hour later the doctors confirmed that apart from being dehydrated and having a bruised knee he was fine and could go home if he had someone to care for him.

With Archangel able to confirm that there were plenty of people at the house to look after him, including Marella who almost a qualified doctor, they treated Cody to a ride home in Airwolf.

Back at the house Cody was given a hero's welcome. Everyone gathered in the sitting room and it was drinks all around as Cody described his adventure.

Sitting next to Beth, sipping a quality wine that rivalled his at the cabin, Hawke listened to Cody describe his two days in the dark, locked room. He was amazed at the boy's ability to bounce back; after his initial outburst of emotion he now seemed remarkably calm and was obviously enjoying the attention. Hawke knew that Archangel had arranged counselling for the boy but it would probably have to wait until the initial euphoria of being rescued had passed.

He was startled out of his thoughts by a slight noise beside him and he glanced at Beth. She was no longer listening to Cody and appeared to be lost in thoughts of her own, and unpleasant ones at that.

"Beth, you OK?" he asked her quietly.

She shook her head, "Get me out of here String," she murmured.

He slipped an arm around her waist and guided her to her feet.

"Coffee," he said by way of explanation when faces turned their way as they stood up.

In the kitchen Beth stood with her body leaning against sink, her arms crossed protectively across her chest, looking out of the window. It was dark outside and with the light on all she could see was the reflection of the room, but she stared regardless.

Hawke just sat at the table and watched her. He recognised the posture, it said 'don't touch' and he knew that he wouldn't be able to help her shake off the memories of her own kidnapping which had been far worse than Cody's.

A noise in the doorway made him turn and he saw Mrs Johnson, or Eileen as she had asked them to call her, watching them both.

"Anything I can do to help?" she asked Hawke quietly so that Beth wouldn't hear.

Hawke just shrugged, unsure of what to say. She helped him out. "My husband told me about Beth's kidnapping," at Hawke's surprised glance she added, "not the details of course, it wasn't his place to tell, but enough for me to know this must be hard on her."

"Your son, you should be with him," Hawke was moved that this woman wanted to help Beth.

"He's fine at the moment. He's getting more attention than he's ever had before. Oh, I know he will need me when the euphoria wears off but for now he's fine. Your girlfriend, however, is not."

Hawke shrugged again then nodded. As he left the kitchen to return to the sitting room he heard Eileen say in a matter of fact voice, "Let's make the coffee Beth."

It was over half an hour later when Eileen returned to the sitting room with a tray of coffee and cookies. As she handed them around she told Hawke that Beth had gone up to the guest room.

"I think she'd like you to join her," she added.

"Did she say that?" Hawke asked, not wanting to upset Beth further if she wanted to be alone.

Eileen smiled at him, "Not in so many words but she's taken your coffee up."

"I always said she was manipulative," Dominic remarked. Hawke turned to give him a few choice words but bit them back when he realised that the older man was joking. "You go up String. We'll be turning in soon anyway."

Beth was sitting cross-legged on top of the bed covers wearing Hawke's leather flight jacket and hugging her mug in both hands.

"Cold?" he asked her.

"I can't stop shivering."

He sat down next to her, keeping his distance, and picked up his mug. They sat in silence until they had finished their coffee.

"I'm sorry I pushed you away again."

"It's OK. You wanted to face your fears. No-one said it would be easy."

"A hug would warm me up," she suggested shyly.

He wrapped his arms around her, gently at first, then more firmly when she didn't pull away.

Eventually she relaxed and stopped shaking and he felt her fingers start to undo his shirt.

He moved back slightly so he could look into her eyes, "You sure?"

She nodded and reached towards him for a kiss.

They were lying in each other's arms, almost asleep when there was a knock on the door. Hawke swore, climbed out of bed, pulled on his jeans and opened the door.

"You're making a habit of this Marella," he said dryly, remembering the time at the cabin when she had disturbed them in bed.

"Sorry Hawke. I need to speak to Beth before Michael and I leave."

Hawke grabbed his shirt from the floor and threaded his arms into it as he headed out of the room and downstairs.

Michael and Johnson were the only ones left in the sitting room

Michael took in Hawke's half dressed and dishevelled appearance and apologised.

"Sorry Hawke. In the excitement of the arrests and Cody's rescue Marella forgot to give me a memo from the committee."

"What's that got to do with Beth?"

Johnson, noticing the tension between the two men, stood up to leave. "Anything I can get you before I retire for the night?" he asked.

"Glass of water," Hawke replied abruptly, adding "thanks" as he realised how rude he had sounded.

Glass of water in hand he turned to Michael, "I'm waiting."

"Marella and Elizabeth have been reassigned," Archangel replied bluntly.

"Where? Why?"

"Where – Europe, for at least three months, maybe as long as six or nine. Why – because of their relationships with us."

"The committee can't do that!" Hawke was appalled.

"Actually they can. I'll try to talk them around of course but I think the decision is final. There are rumblings high up; I don't know what's happening but I suspect a change in the balance of power. The last mission had us putting our women before the safety of Airwolf and that worries them."

Hawke took deep breaths to control his anger, "So you and Marella are...involved?"

"Yes. It was supposed to be a secret, only Elizabeth knew, but the committee was having me followed and spotted us having dinner together."

"That's hardly incriminating."

Michael hesitated, "Well they may also have seen me leave her apartment the next morning."

Hawke grinned slyly, "And you didn't notice you were being followed?" he couldn't believe that Michael, who was normally so careful, had failed to notice a tail.

"Don't rub it in Hawke," he replied, as Marella appeared in the doorway. "We have to leave now, we're seeing the Committee in the morning. I'll let you know the outcome."

"You do that Michael," Hawke replied coldly as he made his way back upstairs.

"So, you're leaving me again," Hawke commented to Beth, his expression unreadable.

"Archangel is going to try to change the committee's mind."

"Not going to happen," Hawke slumped on the bed, "Their timing sucks."

"I know."

"You don't have to go."

"Yes I do, you know that. And even if I don't go to Europe I'll still be working for the Firm, which you can't accept."

"Getting used to it," he was looking at the floor, anywhere but at her.

"You've changed your tune," she sounded surprised.

Hawke finally lifted his head and looked at her, "Seeing you again..." his voice trailed off.

She shuffled over to sit next to him and took hold of his hand.

"I know, I feel the same. Look, when our paths cross again, if we're both still free, we can get together. But until then I don't want you moping around waiting for me to return, I could be gone months. Get on with your life, String."

"If we're both still free," he repeated flatly, "that mean you're going to see other men?" His tone said it all; it hurt.

"Maybe, maybe not. I doubt I'll meet anyone who matches up to you. And with me gone I doubt you'll live a monk-like existence," she smiled at him, trying to lighten the mood.

"I could."

"Don't. Who knows what the future holds. If we are fated to be together it will happen. Now, I'm not leaving yet so let's enjoy the time we have left."


End file.
